


Breathing In, Breathing Out

by Three_Oaks



Series: Oaksy's Prompt Game [21]
Category: Mission: Impossible (Movies)
Genre: Happy Ending, Love Confessions, M/M, Morse Code, Panic Attacks, This IS Fluff I Swear, Trapped In A Closet, injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23754526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Three_Oaks/pseuds/Three_Oaks
Summary: Being stuck in a cupboard with Ethan is not how Benji hoped this mission would end.Stuck
Relationships: Benji Dunn/Ethan Hunt
Series: Oaksy's Prompt Game [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676299
Comments: 8
Kudos: 82





	Breathing In, Breathing Out

Benji slammed the door of the cupboard behind them, pushing Ethan back against the brooms and buckets with whom they were sharing the very limited space they had. 

Voices rang just outside the thin wooden door. The very thin wooden door that would be absolutely no protection against anything more dangerous than an letter opener. The very thin wooden door that let every sound pass.

Benji held his breath. Ethan could do six minutes. How long would he last without passing out? Or would he be loud if he actually passed out, falling onto brooms and getting them both killed? He hated this. 

He couldn't hold his breath. His chest contracted in shallow breaths he couldn't control, too fast to bring any relief. He was stuck in a cupboard with Ethan, against Ethan, and he was breathing so loudly he was going to give them away. And then they would kill them. Kill Ethan. Maybe hurt them before, just to make everything worse. Then Ethan would be dead, and it would be his fault. He bit his lips so hard he tasted blood. Pain didn't help. Maybe he wasn't biting hard enough? He had to-

Ethan tapped him gently on the back, the sound muffled by the fabric of his shirt. With his other hand, he gestured at Benji to watch him.

He took a breath through the mouth, and let it out through the nose. 

Benji didn't understand.

He did it again, this time wiggling his finger at Benji in the few centimeters between them.

Oh.

Benji tried. In through the mouth, out through the nose, at the same time that Ethan. One breath. Ethan smiled at him, gave him a thumbs up.

Again. In, and out. 

Again, and again. He didn't know how many times.

The panic started to recede. He was breathing, he was breathing with Ethan. They were safe, at least for the moment. He could do this.   
He smiled at Ethan, trying to convey all of his gratefulness. Ethan smiled back. 

Suddenly, Benji noticed how close they were. He noticed that his hand was still on his back, just above his hip. Not a place you'd usually touch your friends or colleagues, but it wasn't as they had any space to move. And, given the weird angle Ethan's arm was in, it was either the small of his back or his backside. His feet were just around Ethan's, the inside of his calves and thighs touching Ethan's legs, their hips against each other. He could feel- 

Oh, god.

Ethan cast him a worried glance, laid back as much as he could, and put a finger on Benji's heart. Which was beating as if it were trying to leave his ribcage.

Benji gave an aggressive thumbs up to Ethan, and wished for a swift death.

Ethan, his respected colleague and teammate, with whom he had a purely platonic, friendly relationship. Whom he definitely hadn't had a crush on since they'd met. Right. A crush. Just a crush.

In, and out. 

This was fine. It's not as if he'd spend the past few years wondering how Ethan's body would feel against his, how warm his skin was. Well, the hand on his back was very warm. He tried not to think about his chest, solid against his own, that made him want to be closer because he felt so safe there. Or his own hand resting on Ethan's leg, midway above the knee. He could slide it between them, reach up and-

No.

This was wrong, on so many levels that he couldn't even name them all. He was a professional. Most of all, he was Ethan's friend. This wasn't the place. Maybe there never would be. And that was alright. All that mattered was they survived this. He looked into Ethan's eyes, squeezing his shoulder with his other hand. He could do this. In, and out, he kept breathing.  


Ethan smiled back, with shades of relief.

They stayed like this for a while. Benji closed his eyes, trying to think of what he would do when he was out of this damned cupboard. Maybe he would tell Ethan. Maybe he-

Ethan slumped back against the wall, sending a bucket thundering against the floor. Benji grabbed him before he could fall, holding him the best he could with only one hand. 

"Where the fuck did this come from?" someone shouted, just outside the door. Benji held his breath.

"Nothing here. Must have been next door. Come on, they can't be far!" 

Steps, leaving the room. Benji breathed with relief. In, and out. 

He tried propping Ethan up, managing to snatch his other hand from underneath him to hold his lax body better, trying to shake him awake. Panic rose in Benji again. He ran his hand along Ethan's back and arms, trying to find an injury, until he felt his fingers come back sticky with blood. He didn't need to see it to know what it was. A bullet wound, in his upper left arm. 

He needed to bandage it. It probably hadn't hit the artery, because otherwise Ethan would be dead by now, but it wouldn't do him much good if he didn't stop the bleeding. He couldn't lose him. Not now, not like that, not without having told him how much he-

In, and out.

He could do this. He had to do this. 

He pulled Ethan against his chest, holding his weight with one arm and grabbing a rag with the other. Right. He took a corner of the rag between his teeth, tying it around Ethan's arm as tightly as he could.

Benji waited. He held Ethan, trying to gauge how much blood he was still losing at the dampness of the bandage. He closed his eyes, and prayed. 

He kept breathing, in and out. 

It was the only thing he could do. 

He didn't know how much time had passed when he felt Ethan stir in his arms. He looked up at Benji, eyes still glassy, and rested his head back against Benji's shoulder. 

Benji felt a finger tapping against his back, in Morse.

_Sorry_

He tapped back, and smiled.

_It's ok. Not dead_.

Benji felt Ethan's chest move in a silent laugh. Everything didn't seem so bad, not anymore. Ethan put his arms around Benji, pulling him closer, holding onto him as if he was the only thing keeping him upright. 

It could be worse. 

They stayed like that for what felt like hours, until Ethan's hand started moving along his back, fingers barely brushing his shirt, tracing the same path over and over again. He turned his head so his face would be nested against Benji's neck, breath hot against his skin. He tried very hard to remember how to breathe. In, and out. Slowly, he put a hand on Ethan's head, running his hand through his soft hair. He didn't know what was happening. But he never wanted it to stop.

Ethan raised his head, and looked at him. Benji became acutely aware of the few inches he had on him, staring down into Ethan's earnest eyes, gaze wandering to his soft mouth.

Slowly, Ethan moved up, until their lips brushed. 

He pulled back, looking at him anxiously. 

Benji pushed himself against Ethan, and kissed him with the longing of all those years he'd spent thinking he was a fool. He couldn't breathe, and he couldn't bring himself to care. Not with Ethan holding him like he couldn't bear to lose him, like he couldn't live without Benji in his arms. 

Ethan pulled back, and mouthed something.

He wasn't the best at reading lips, but even he could understand that.

_I love you._

Benji kissed him again. He tried to pull Ethan even closer, and kicked a broom. It hit the door three times before he could catch it.

"The cupboard!" 

The first bullet pierced the thin wooden door, and Benji ran out, holding Ethan's hand. 

He didn't know how they managed to escape, not with all those men after them and Ethan's injury, but they found themselves in the back of a truck, driving to safety. Ethan was lying on his back, trying to catch his breath. Benji leaned above him and cupped his face into his hand. 

"I love you," he said, aloud. 


End file.
